This briefing shares children and young people’s experiences of so-called ‘sextortion’, a form of online blackmail that involves the threat of sharing nude or semi-nude images or videos to extort money or force someone to do something against their will.
Drawing from contacts to Childline and the NSPCC Helpline in 2023/24, the briefing explores:
It also offers guidance for reporting and disrupting incidents of sextortion, should a child’s image ever fall into the wrong hands.
Please cite as: NSPCC (2024) Young people’s experiences of online sexual extortion or ‘sextortion’. London: NSPCC.
Our insight briefings use data and insight from Childline counselling sessions and NSPCC Helpline contacts to explore concerns children and young people have raised and how these affect them.
References
Covers what schools and organisations working with children and young people need to know about sharing nudes, including writing a policy and procedures and how to respond to incidents.
Learn about setting up an online community or using a new social media platform. Includes assessing, mitigating and addressing risk and ensuring you have appropriate moderation and hosting.
Any child or young person can experience online abuse. If a child or young person has disclosed that they've experienced abuse online, or you've noticed something worrying, find out how to respond appropriately.
A report exploring how children’s voices can inform decision-making about online safety.
Discusses the problems with the term ‘older boyfriend’ and prompts professionals to recognise the links to grooming and child sexual exploitation.
Learn about Report Remove, an online tool that under-18s can use to report nude images or videos of themselves that have been shared online, and find out how to integrate it into your response to incidents of sharing nudes.
